Gary Lineker claims he suffered 'racist abuse' because of his 'darker skin'
22 June 2022, 09:25 | Updated: 22 June 2022, 09:31
Gary Lineker has claimed he suffered "racist abuse” for his “darkish skin” at school and during his time in football.
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The former England star told the High Performance podcast he experienced abuse at the hands of schoolmates and claims it continued into his professional career.
“I was a tiny, geeky kid with darkish skin. I had pretty much racist abuse, although I’m as English as they come.”
Listen to the High Performance podcast on Global Player
He said that without being good at football, he would likely have been more severely bullied, despite being "as English as they come".
The 61-year-old, who know presents Match of the Day, said the abuse continued into his career, from known figures in the sport, who he refused to name.
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“Even in professional football I had that a couple of times. I wouldn’t name names. But I got that kind of nonsense, which was a bit weird," he said.
“Whether that was part of something that made me, I don’t know. Other people might not be able to handle that.”
Mr Lineker also said he experienced "embarrassing" times during his apprenticeship days at Leicester, due to not reaching puberty until he was 17 years of age, which made for “embarrassing at times” in the dressing room.
He has been criticised by some for making the claims, with deputy leader of the Reclaim Party Martin Daubney taking aim at the former England striker and broadcaster.
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"Lineker is the ultimate hypocrite and I wish he just put one of his football socks in his gob," he told GB News.
At international level, Mr Lineker helped England reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990. He also won the competition's Golden Boot four years earlier.
His many individual honours include the PFA Players' Player of the Year and two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
He is now best known for presenting Match of the Day, taking over from Des Lynam in 1999.
